#but i still wanted to participate. so i disqualified myself by changing the pose a little

[abenthyadventures]

30th day of Kythorn (parts 1 and 2):

Today was the day of the bard college graduation ceremony and grand tournament.  The five of us—Aeif had spent the night at the monastery—ventured forth toward the festivities in the city, finding the streets around the college and arena lined with venders and games. Before long, a game caught the eye of our number as we watched people try to blindly toss bags of flour into a basket. The price was 5 cp for 3 throws. Finnan played and won quite handily, as did Berien, though the prize for winning was not particularly impressive. Soon thereafter, we came across a hammer-and-bell game. As we approached, we watched a contestant fail miserably. Agnes, seemingly eager to flex her talents quickly took the hammer, despite the skepticism from the crowd and vendor that a woman might be victorious. Of course, I have had the honor of traveling with Agnes for nigh on a month now and knew better than to doubt; nay, rather I placed a wager of five gold pieces on her success and was satisfied to watch as she almost effortlessly nearly shattered the bell at the top of the game tower. Unfortunately, the individual with whom I made the wager decided to scurry off, but thanks to the keen eyes of my familiar, Nolwë, I quickly located him in the crowd, slinking and sniveling, reluctant to pay his debt, but not willing to protest too vehemently lest he further shame himself. 

Next we came across a cup-and-ball guessing game, where one is challenged to visually track which of three cups has a ball in it. I’ve seen other versions of similar games using seashells or playing cards. The game itself is typically a con, relying on the game worker’s sleight of hand to ensure that no matter how well the player tracks, they will be wrong in the end. However, I decided to give as good as I might get and used a cantrip of my own to even the odds. The carny noticed when I won, but would not make a scene lest the nature of his game be made public. He quietly suggested  I take my winnings and not return to his stall, and I obliged, not wanting to make a scene myself. 

Eventually, Finnan noted that his specially ordered lute case should be ready for pick up. Berien, Agnes, and I accompanied him, while Lyria declined the invitation and agreed to meet at the arena later for the tournament. Thus, we set out for Vesper’s. I asked Finnan if this person was a “fence” which he confirmed. I express some concern about the ethicality, and indeed the legality, of engaging in transactions with Vesper. Finnan noted that Vesper has extensive and powerful connections and this particular transaction was entirely legitimate and posed no risk to our freedom or morals. Agnes, unfamiliar with the concept, overheard my questions to Finnan asked me what a fence is, which I hesitated to explain lest her sense of justice be too heartily aroused. Still, I would not wish to deceive her; I assured her Finnan’s business here was safe, but noted that we should be careful with our dealings. 

As we wrapped up this bit of morning business, Finnan told us a little more about his lute, Rasanate, and how it belonged to his grandfather. He noted that Rasanate’s habit of “speaking” to him is actually a quite new experience. He knew of no legends of the lute’s sentience, and so far as he knew it had just been a fine heirloom instrument. Finnan is clearly very attached to this instrument, but I still worry about the influence of the entity that seems to reside within it. 

We made our way toward tournament grounds. Finnan and I would simply be spectators for the tournament of individual fighters and I was eager to see Agnes in action. Later, we all worked together in a group challenge, but I shall detail the singles’ tournament first. 

The tournament was drawn as a bracket, with a totality of eight fighters. A win would see the victor advance to the next round until only two remained and then those final two would contest each other to determine the champion. Reportedly, the matchups were randomized, so no one knew their first round match until right before they entered combat. 

Lyria’s name was the first called and she faced down a human warrior named Aslin, who was well-armored and wielding a warhammer. Lyria moved much faster than her opponent and Aslin barely touched her. Lyria easily won and managed to look bored with the challenge. Indeed she is formidable. 

The next match was between two humans. One—called Talin the Bold—bore armor and wielded a sword from which flames appeared to be emanating. I suspected him to be favored in the match, against the other individual who wore no armor and wielded a quarterstaff—a man called Phalin. I would be wholly wrong, however. No, Phalin avoided Talin’s strikes and masterfully used his fists, feet, and quarterstaff to quickly disable and dispatch Talin. The seneschal noted that Phalin was of “The Way of the Tangled Thorn” and I noted this for later research. 

The third match featured Berien facing down a beast of a man—I believe he was half-orc actually—named Brag. Unfortunately, Berien was entirely outmatched—or just didn’t employ the right strategy (which to my mind would have involved maintaining a maximum distance). Brag knocked Berien out very quickly using nothing but a crude looking club. His first strike appeared to concuss Berien who mindlessly returned to his feet, attempted to lunge with his rapier only to be struck again and knocked unconscious.

The final first round match was by far the most competitive as Agnes and Aeif were drawn against each other. My curiosity was truly piqued. Initially, Aeif’s attempts to strike Agnes were entirely futile and Agnes managed to press an advantage. Aeif, however, is much faster than Agnes and he changed approach after being struck, opting to keep distance and throw a strange looking object toward her. Initially, I suspected the object to be the result of some spell, but as the judges did not disqualify him, this was ruled out. Still, it was a most curious sight; the object flew around Agnes and then returned to Aeif’s hand. I was not certain what it was intended to do until he later used it more successfully, which I will document further on within this entry. Aeif’s speed made him hard to hit for Agnes, but when she did strike, she struck hard. There was one point in the fight during which it appeared that Aeif would succeed, but the scene flashed in my mind and I saw Aeif have a knockout blow parried away and lo, so it came to pass. Agnes countered and delivered the final blow, moving toward the second round of matches. Both fought rather well, but I hesitate to say that Aeif fought with bravery. 

In the second round, Lyria was drawn against Phalin and Agnes against Brag. Lyria seemed confident striding into the arena, but in the blink of an eye, Phalin was on the offensive. His first strike appeared to catch her entirely off guard and she barely moved before being struck again and again. Phalin indeed finished off Lyria even more quickly than Lyria herself had finished off Aslin. I was utterly amazed as, up to now, I had not seen Lyria vulnerable. This “Way of the Tangled Thorn” fascinates me; perhaps Aeif could learn something from their methods. 

Agnes too was defeated in the second round, but she did put up a worthy fight. The opponent, Brag, seemed just too fresh and unchallenged by his first round. Agnes had a much more challenging first round and when Brag was struck by Agnes he seemed able to fight through the pain that many others would have been felled under. 

In the final round, Phalin who had easily bested his first two opponents stood against Brag. Though Brag managed to get a measure of offense in early, he too fell victim to Phalin’s rapid, powerful strikes. Phalin achieved a knockout blow by planting his quarterstaff and vaulting himself into the air and delivering a spinning kick to the head of Brag. The crowd seemed conflicted for I don’t think they much cared for either contestant, but still there were cheers for Phalin’s prowess nonetheless. 

After the solo tournament concluded, the contestants for the group rounds gathered in the staging area. Clerics were on hand to patch up the wounds of all the participants. We were then given instructions for how the group rounds would operate. Three teams would compete over the course of three rounds. Each team would face the same type of monstrous enemy and any team that failed a round would be eliminated. Should more than one team beat all three rounds, the winnings would be shared. 

The two other groups gathered nearby. One group—the Talons—seemed well ordered and capable. Most were reserved, but one of their number, Balfour, was charismatic and introduced himself and his party. The second group consisted of 5 young men, each with a musical instrument. Finnan scoffed when he noticed them, and doubly so when they were introduced to the crowd as Passion Thunder. Apparently he was familiar with them already and was not a fan. There was an interesting shift in the audible range of the crowd as the cheers were much more high pitched than before; peering out I noticed a number of young women swooning. This ended up a short-lived cheer though, as this group drew first entry and was defeated by an ettin—a two-headed runt of a giant—quite quickly. Finnan burst into laughter and told us that they all attempted to inspire one another and no one thought to actually have weapons at the ready. 

The Talons, on the other hand, were efficient and quickly took down their opposing Ettin. We followed suit and made short work as well. I used my Spider Staff to conjure a web that entrapped the Ettin, staying to a backline with Finnan and Berien while Agnes, Lyria, and Aeif engaged up close. Lyria managed to deliver the final blow, as she loves to do, but we all played a role.

This strategy worked very well, and as we were drawn to compete first in the second round, we implemented it again in a trial against two trolls. The second round was obviously much more challenging, with twice as many targets, each arguably stronger than the Ettin had been. However, Finnan and I worked sensationally well together to control the flow of combat. Once again I conjured a web, and called out for our melee combatants to get out of the way so I could follow up with a fireball. Finnan used a bit of fey magic to empower everyone else to move exceptionally quickly and thus I was able to launch a fireball right between the trolls while Agnes, Lyria, and Aeif safely avoided the blast. However, as the fireball landed, igniting the trolls and the webbing, I saw a flash of panic-stricken horror come across Aeif’s countenance. You see, he had once again thrown that strange looking object from his fight with Agnes, but this time he had hit one of the trolls with it and it fell to the ground. I realized all too late that it would be in the path of my fireball and my heart sank as I realized 1) that item was the boomerang Aeif had been talking about for weeks and 2) I may have just accidentally destroyed it. It was with great relief that we saw the flames clear away around it and it still laid there as pristine as before. Panic passed, we dealt with the situation at hand. Lyria finished off one troll and Finnan carefully placed a crossbow bolt right through the eye of the other and the arrow carried on through its skull. 

The Talons too were successful against their trolls, and admittedly copied our own strategy, using webbing and fire. Imitation is said to be a most sincere form of flattery, but I must admit to feeling somewhat bitter that they were able to copy us quite so well. But for the third and final round, they would not be able to do the same, as they went first. 

As they entered the arena to face down their final monsters, a tremendous, screeching roar was heard coming from the opposing entranceway. Never have I heard anything like it, and I’m not sure that I care to again. The gates opened and out came two huge beasts that initially seemed like a form of dragon. However, their jaws were even larger than many dragons I’ve seen depicted, and they didn’t have the same skeletal frame one would expect. They had no wings, but they did have incredibly large and powerful rear legs and impossibly small front arms; I say arms, because these creatures were bipedal, only using their rear legs and their long tail for balance. No one we spoke with was able to tell us the name of this creature for certain, but the seneschal indicated he had hear something about a “Terrasaurex” but he seemed doubtful of his pronunciation. 

These terrible reptilian creatures tore through The Talons and I think the clerics on hand needed to use some powerful divine magic to heal them; one was lucky not to be severed in half as one of the creatures bit down on him and held him in his jaws during the fracas. Fear began to settle in and I thought through a potential plan with Finnan for our turn with the creatures. Thus far the webbing had worked well, but we feared the incredible strength of these creatures might not allow us to keep it webbed. Lyria noted she could try to lay zAX a thorny ambush while Finnan might try to distract them with an illusion. Of course, plans are one thing; execution is another. 

We took our strides into the arena and though I cannot speak for the others, an involuntary shiver went down my spine as the beasts charged out. It was quickly clear we would not be able to distract and trap, so I decided to test tensile limits of my webbing once more. The webbing landed and did indeed successfully slow them down and give the rest of the party a fighting chance. However, Lyria was unable to avoid the the jaws of one of monsters and we were left with a dilemma; I could still launch a fireball to hurt the terrasaurexes but it would likely hit Lyria too. With hardly anytime to react, Finnan gambled to get the monster to release Lyria and attempted to superheat her own armor to force a reflex drop, but unfortunately it did not work. I decided that the best chance for survival would be to continue with the plan to launch a fireball, and thus I did. I’m pretty certain this briefly knocked Lyria unconscious, but I’m convinced she would have died had I not done this. With the flames beginning to engulf it, Aeif, Agnes, and Berien focused on attacking it to free Lyria from its grasp. All did their part, but it was Agnes with her Lightbringer who managed to maneuver underneath and carve a large swathe through the underside of it, felling it. Lyria tumbled free, but we were all deeply concerned as she appeared lifeless. 

The other beast redoubled its efforts and sought to grasp Agnes. I screamed out as I saw the fearsome jaws clasp down on her. In a panic I used a mindspike spell, but though i’m sure I gave the beast a mighty headache, I could not force the release. Aeif wailed upon the beast and Finnan used his arcane talents to spark life to Lyria. Lyria recovered enough to reach for her bow and loose an arrow, but it was Berien who shined most in this moment as he carefully placed a shot that went into the beast’s neck and partially exited through to the other side. Blood spurted out and the mounds of muscle went limp. Berien indeed had saved the day. My mind was fogged over as many emotions tried to occupy my thoughtspace: anger, fear, excitement, elation. 

When the beast fell, the crowd roared a mighty roar, as defeating as the monsters we slew. Before I could take in what we had just managed though, Agnes came rushing toward me, golden hair flowing behind in the wind. In an instant she was embracing me and her lips met mine with an intensity matching the light of Lathander. I find myself struggling to believe that it truly happened, but the sense of ecstasy permeates my very soul. I do hope this is the start of something special between us. 

We collected ourselves and were rewarded with the prize of 1000 gold pieces—a smaller sum than I hoped to be honest. Lyria immediately began insisting that she receive a larger portion of the pot, but I refused her at this time, noting that we can discuss it later when the adrenaline dies down. Now was the time to get ready to observe the grand graduation ceremony.